This is the story of the journey of my life. Travel can be hard work. So much to see. So little time. So many missed connections. So much lost luggage. But every stop, every detour, every challenge along the way provides a lesson to be learned. Traveling mercies to us all.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

"When I count my blessings...

I count you twice."

How much more appropriate is that question when sighting a double rainbow?
Which I didn't realize was double until I downloaded and looked at the photos just now.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, for this beautiful gift.

Thank you for trees and rainstorms, chainsaws and manual clippers, neighbors and their children.
Thank you for birds and dogs, basil and peaches, giveaways and consignment shops.
Thank you for water and soda, bread and wine, song and silence.
Thank you for teenagers who ask, "Can I talk to you about ________?" and quickly follow up with, "Is that what they called it back in the 70s? Please don't ever use that word again."

Thank you for neighbors with an open pool policy on hot days and ready shovels on snowy days.
Thank you for airplanes and strong legs, for computers and composition books, for electricity and flashlights.
Thank you for poetry, fiction, memoir, Dr. Seuss, Momma Zen, Anne Lamott, Donald Miller, Jena Strong, Rob Bell, and books of prayer.
Thank you for Skype and postcards, for jury duty and vacation days, for newborn babies and empty nests.
Thank you for company and solitude, for movement and stillness, for warmth and for cold.

Thank you for acupuncture, chiropractors, midwives, internists, pharmacists, and surgeons.
Thank you for peace, for laughter, for friendship, and the blessing of a full stomach.
Thank you for the ways in which I can work to make all those things possible for more people than myself, those I know and love, those with enough money to afford them, and those who live in my country.

Thank you for all the anam cara-soul friends, warm beds, comfortable pillows, ceiling fans, safe travels, belly laughs, cups of strong coffee, carafes of sangria, glasses of beer, long phone calls over many miles - thank you for the many blessings that I count twice, thrice, and sometimes lose count of altogether.

Thank you that you love us even we don't love you or love each other most of the time.
Thank you for forgiving us when we hold grudges against you and each other.
Thank you for helping me to seek and find something to give thanks for,
even on the steamiest, stormiest, loneliest, least rainbow-laden days.

Thank you that I don't have to understand, explain, or defend any of this.
Thank you that saying thank you really is enough.

About Me

If you will allow me, I will quote The Count of Monte Cristo: "I'm a writer, not a saint. I'm imperfect, and so are my writings. These are my spiritual yearnings and tainted expressions of love, hacked as best I can onto thin sheets of wood pulp (or in my case, onto a thin keyboard), in a fallen world, with my flawed perceptions, feelings, desires, and misguided intentions. In a nutshell, this is me; live with it. Don't read this unless you really want to see all of me, even the not-so-pretty parts. But if you really want to know me, keep on reading."